Terminal lug



p 4, 1956 R. R. SCOVILLE 2,762,030

TERMINAL LUG Filed Sept. 3, 1954 INVENTOR FIG. 3. RAY R. SGOVILLE ATTORNEYS United States Fatent C TERMINAL LUG Ray R. Scoville, 'Los Angeles, Calif.

Application September 3, 1954, Serial No. 453,982

8 Claims. (Cl. 339277) The present invention relates to connecting devices and is more particularly concerned with a novel terminal lug for use in electrical circuit applications.

A considerable number of terminal lug devices are already known in the art for providing connecting means in electrical circuit applications. For the most part, these known terminal lugs have been subject to several disadvantages, however. First, such terminal lugs have generally been designed to accommodate but a single electrical connection; or, on the other hand, when an attempt has been made to so design a terminal lug that plural connections may in fact be coupled to the said lug, considerable care has still been required to assure that the said plural connections do not interfere with one another. Again, it is often desired that terminal lugs be electrically interconnected to provide, in essence, a terminal strip, and in the past separate electrical connections have been required to effect such an interconnection of terminal lugs.

In most circuit applications the foregoing disadvantages of known terminal lugs require undue complication and unnecessary expense in the wiring of a circuit, and, further, seriously limit the possible circuit arrangements which may be effected. The terminal lug of the present invention obviates the foregoing difliculties and permits much greater facility in the wiring of an electrical circuit.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a novel terminal lug.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of an electrical connector device capable of receiving several connections from a plurality of directions without the said connections interfering with one another.

A still further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a terminal lug which may receive electrical connections by clip-in or automatic hopper feeding techniques.

A still further object of the present invention resides in the provision of an electrical connector having integral strapping clips whereby the said connector may be quickly connected to like connectors.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of basic connector units which may be readily installed at high speed by automatic machines thereby to form terminal strips.

Still another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a terminal lug which is inexpensive to fabricate and employ, and which may be produced by known manufacturing techniques.

A further object of the present invention resides in portions substantially at right angles to one another, and

remaining portions of the terminal that an electrical con.

nection may be inserted therein and such an electrical connection, in passing through the said eyelet, does not interfere with any other connections made to either the forked portions or the projecting tooth portion of the said terminal lug. The terminal lug is further so constructed that the several connection portions thereof may be bent into a plurality of different configurations with respect to one another, whereby one or more of my novel terminal lugs may be utilized to receive electrical connections both above and below a terminal board and from a plurality of distinct directions.

The foregoing objects, advantages and construction of the present invention will be more readily seen from the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 represents a terminal lug in accordance with the present invention before the several portions thereof are bent to desired positions.

Figure 2 depicts a terminal board having a plurality of terminal lugs disposed thereon in accordance with the present invention, and

Figure 3 represents a string of terminal lugs in accordance with the present invention and adapted to be fed to automatic machinery for attaching the said terminal lugs to a terminal board.

Referring now to Figure 1, it will be seen that a term. inal lug 10 in accordance with the present invention may comprise a metallic punching or other machining of electrically conductive material. The lug 10 comprises a first portion 11 having a substantially circular aperture 12 formed therein. It should be understood that if the said aperture 12 does take the form shown, a separate eyelet is preferably used in conjunction with the said aperture 12 for mounting the terminal lug 10 upon a board structure. In the alternative, however, the aperture 12 may take the form of an eyelet dimpled into the terminal lug itself whereby auxiliary eyelets need not be employed in mounting the lug. In addition, it should be noted that, if desired, two corners of the portion 11 may be bent sharply downward if desired, along lines E and F, for instance, whereby two short sharp teeth are formed which may dig into a mounting board thereby to prevent twisting of the terminal lug.

Formed integrally as portions of the terminal 10 are a projecting tooth portion 13, a first forked portion 14 disposed substantially opposite the tooth portion 13, and a second forked portion 15 disposed substantially at right angles to portions 13 and 14. Forked portions 14 and 15 of the terminal lug 10 define, respectively, centrally located slots 16 and 17 for the reception of electrical connectors, and the said slots 16 and 17 in turn preferably define toothed or rippled edges 18 and 19 respectively to facilitate the gripping action on a connector inserted therein. The slot 16 preferably defines a cross dimension substantially the same as that of tooth portion 13 whereby as will become apparent from the following discussion, plural terminal lugs may be readily interconnected. The aperture 12 is so disposed that the center thereof is displaced from the center line of the portion 14 by a predetermined distance A, and the said center of aperture 12 is further displaced from the center line of the slot 17 by a distance B. It will be seen, therefore, that a wire or other connector extending through the aperture 12 will not interfere with a wire passing through the slot 16 and/or with a i p sin hr u h the slot 17. becaus of the said displacements A and B. Because of this feature it is possible to bend the tooth portions 14 and 15 each upward, for instance, at substantially right angles to the plane of the drawing, and connections may be coupled to the terminal it} at slots 16 and 17 as well as through aperture 12 without any :of these connections interfering with one another in respect to physical displacement. Referring to a system'of Cartesian coordinates, it is thus possible with the terminal lug of the present invention to connect wires or other connections from each of the X, Y and Z dhections without there being any. physical interference therebetween.

t h u d fu t e b n d ha ec us o he s ot 16 d 9 d finsdt ss ptiv i t hik -p r and of terminal 10, lead wires of circuit components or other electricalconnections may either be clipped into the said slots 16 and 17 or may, in the alternative, be Wrapped about the portions 14 and 15 or about either leg of the said iorked portions 14 and 15. Again, the projecting tooth 13 of the terminal 19 may serve .to receive even further lead wires by a wrap-around technique, and thus each of the portions 13, 14 and 15, as Well as aperture 12, may act as possible connection points for external lead wires.

When either 'of the portions 14 or 15 are utilized as connection points by a wrap-around technique, it will be noted that the forked construction of each of these portions provides in effect two tabs at each location for receiving such a Wrap-around connection. On the other hand, when the portions 14 and 15 are to be used for receiving .clip-in connections, the lead wires of an external circuit component may be wedged into the said slots 16 and/or 17 whereby they are maintained in place by the toothed edges 18 and 19 respectively.

While 1 have described the tooth projection 13 as serving to receive possible wrap-around connections, in the preferred embodiment of my invention the said portion 13 serves a much more important purpose. It will be noted that the said portion 13 is so disposed in respect to the other portions of the terminal 11 that plural terminal lugs of the type shown in Figure 1 may be strapped together, without there being any auxiliary connectors required, by the simple expedient of wedging the projecting tooth 13 of one terminal lug 10 into, for instance, the slot 16 of afurther terminal lug 10. This system, as well as other possible terminal lug configurations in accordance with the present invention, may be seen more readily by reference to Figure 2.

It will be 'seen that in accordance with the present 'invention a terminal board 20 may be utilized to carry plural te 'minal lugs thereon. There such lugs have been shown and these have been designated respectively as-21, 22 and 23 Each of the said terminal lugs 21, 22 and 23 are mechanically coupled to the board 20 by an eyelet 24, and, if desired, by the short teeth formed by downwardly bending corners of the said lugs along lines E and F. As has been discussed previously, the said eyelet 240;. each off the terminals 21, 22 and 23 rnay serve to receive a wire orother electrical connection therethrough for providing a first electrical coupling to the respective tenminal lug. Referring more particularly to the terminal lug 21, it will be seen that the two forked portions thereof, an ,6. y, tiall-y at tight-angles to the plane of the board -20. Because of the displacement of eyelet 24 with respe'ct'to the centers of the slots of eachof forked portions 25 and 26 of the terminal 21, plural wires or other electrical connections may be connected to the said terminal 2 1. Such connections or Wires may come from each of the X," Y and Z directions designated in the said Figureil, and as will be apparent, there will be no physical interference between any connection coming from any of the said directions with a'connection coming from anyother if desired, be bent upward and substan- .4 direction. In the particular case of terminal lug 21 the prpiecting tooth 27 has been shown as disposed substantially parallel to the plane of board 20. Clearly, however, the said projecting tooth 27 may be bent upward as is projecting teeth 28 of terminal lug 23, thereby to provide a still further electrical connection point.

The various portions of the terminal lugs in accordance with the present invention may be bent to a number of other desired configurations to satisfy the interconnection requirements of any given .electrica l circuit. Thus, referring to the terminal 22, shown in Figure 2, it will be seen that one of the forked portions may be bent at two right angles t9 the edge of terminal 20, thereby to assist in fixing or retaining the terminal 22 adjacent the edge of the board 20. Thus, the terminal 22, when bent as shown, defines a first downward extending portion 29 in close proximity to the edge of the board 28 and a further portion 30 at right angles to the portion 29 and substantially parallel, if desired, to :the plane of the board 20. Rat-her than employing the double rightangle bend of the terminal 22, the same retaining action may be obtained (as is shown in respect to terminal 23, for instance), by ';bending the portion 31 directly downward and again in close proximity to. the edge of the board 20.

The strapping feature of the present invention is shown bythe interconnection of the terminal lugs 22 and 23,-and this is accomplished .by disposing the said lugs adjacent one another and then bending a projecting toothed por- 7 tion 32 of the terminal lug 22,,for instance, into wedging contact with the forked portion 33 0f the further lug 23. The several forked portions of the lugs are so arranged thatthe projecting tooth 32 is held in place by the tension of the tines .or forks of the forked portion of the said further lug, thereby to provide a good electrical connec tion between the terminal lugs. This same action occurs when -.Wires are clipped into a terminal lug by wedging the lead wire of a circuit component, for instance, between the said forks or tines of the terminal lug.

A considerable facility of circuit arrangement is permitted -by the lug of the present invention, and it should be noted for instance (and referring to the nomenclature of Figure l), that the projecting tooth 13 of one lug may interconnect with the forked portion 15 of another lug rather than with the forked portion 14 of the said other lu'g. Again, each of the parts 13, 14 and '15 of the terminal lug 10 may be permitted to lie in the same plane as the portion 11 thereof, or may be bent either upward Qr dOwnWa 'd-atany given angle, to the plane of the said portion 11, oroneoi' more of the said parts 13, 14 and 15 maybe bent at a plurality of angles to the plane the said portion 11. Each of these possible bending configuration-s falls within the concept of the present inventien. 7 7

'It should further be noted that, as has been shown'in Figure 2, the m na may e t ze a's de'p o' ns e' li 2) n a da t p tsn in l "str p 9! il -fly rt e s e t P o i e ermin l .str 'p's. cf'the wall type se 2 1 and 23). Beeau'se of the many" os- Sible b nfisu r n f the st ip he s i 'ernm lugs. 'e r e e ith th es ntl t v ntion' a be d -in ui components e t e Para el t e i e r In this p c fo instance and to -a bc aard device. v referring to Figure 2, it will be seen that the portion 31 of'terminal 23 may receive one lead wire of a circuit componentwhich is mounted in a direction substantially parallel to the terminal boa -d 20, while the arrangement of the portion 30 of the terminal lug 22 permits theireception of alead wire of an external component'mounted substantially'perpendicularto the board 20. Inaddition, plural terminal lugs may be mounted upon a terminal board and a forked portionot each maybe bent at sub.- Stantially ri h angles t he p ne, f h s id b ar whereby an 'elect ical connector' rnay be clipped between h said b nt Po on th reby to pro e a lonsats cpn 91 i ppqr ia 'ogi 91: .m ri semaonsnts pane d to a terminal board. While the terminal lugs 22 and 23 shown in Figure 2 have each been mounted adjacent the edge of the board 20, it ShOl id be noted that the lug 21 is not so mounted and may in fact be carried anywhere on the board 20. Again, when it is desired to utilize a terminal lug not relying upon edge support of a terminal board, as is the case with respect to lug 21, the eyelet of the lug may be cut or nicked at the edges thereof or, as has been mentioned previously, two corners of the main body of the lug may be bent down sharply to provid means digging into the terminal board, thereby ing the tendency of the terminal to twist. As before, such centrally mounted terminals may be readily strapped to one another by interconnecting the projecting tooth 27 of such a centrally mounted lug with either of the forked portions of a further lug.

It should be noted that terminal lugs in accordance with the present invention may be fabricated of a number of electrically conductive materials, and in any desired size. While the relative dimensions of the parts 13, 14 and 15, shown in Figure 1, are accurate in respect to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the several component portions of my terminal lug may be made individually either larger or smaller, longer or shorter, depending upon the particular use to which the overall lug will be put. Further, the positions of portions 13 and 14 may be interchanged whereby both right-hand and lefthand lugs may be provided.

In addition, the terminal lugs of the present invention readily lend themselves to automatic machinery techniques of bending and attachment. Thus, referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that, in accordance with the present invention, plural terminal lugs may be formed, for instance by punching techniques, in a continuous elongated strip configuration. The terminal lugs so formed are effectively connected head-to-tail and may be stored on a reel whence they may be threaded into an eyelet attaching machine. When such a procedure is used the automatic machinery employed may include means pre-bending the strip-type terminals in accordance with the discussion of Figure 2, and individual terminals may then be snipped ofi, for instance along lines C and D, as they are eyeletted onto the terminal board.

While I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it must be understood that the foregoing discussion is meant to be illustrative only and many modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and these are intended to be included within the scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A bendable electrical connector defining a pair of forked portions disposed substantially at right angles to one another for receiving electrical connections thereto, and at least one projecting tooth portion spaced from each of said forked portions and substantially colinear with one of said forked portions.

2. A terminal lug adapted for selective bending and comprising a first elongated connector portion of electrically conductive material, a second elongated connector portion of electrically conductive material, said first and second connector portions extending substantially at right angles to one another in a common plane, said lug further defining a substantially circular aperture in said common plane for selectively providing mechanical and further electrical couplings to said lug, the center of said substantially circular aperture being non-colinear with the extended centerlines of both said first and second elongated portions.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said connector further defines fastening means for mechanically connecting said electrical connector to a mounting board, the center of said fastening means being non-colinearly displaced from the extended centerlines of each of said projecting tooth and forked connector portions.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which said connector has two corners thereof bent sharply downward adjacent said fastening means to define a pair of teeth digging into said mounting board thereby to prevent twisting of a connector mounted on said mounting board.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said connector includes a planar portion, one of said forked connector portions being bent at substantially right angles to said planar portion, the other of said forked connector portions being bent at an angle to said planar portions in a direction opposite to that of said first mentioned forked connector portion.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a planar portion, one of said forked connector portions being bent at an angle to said planar portion, the other of said forked connector portions being bent for a first portion thereof at substantially right angles to said planar portion in a direction opposite to that of said first mentioned forked connector portion and being bent for a further portion thereof into a plane substantially parallel to that of said planar portion.

7. An elongated strip of electrical terminals comprising a plurality of terminal portions integrally connected in head-to-tail relationship, each of said terminal portions defining a planar member having a first elongated bifurcated connector integrally formed and coplanar therewith, said planar member further defining a second integrally formed coplanar elongated conductive connector substantially colinear with the extended centerline of said first bifurcated connector, said planar member also defining a third elongated bifurcated connector coplanar therewith and disposed at substantially right angles to said first and second connectors, said third elongated bifurcated connector of each of said terminal portions being joined integrally to the planar member of an adjacent terminal portion in said elongated strip of terminals.

8. The structure of claim 1 wherein said projecting tooth portion is substantially complementary in configuration to the space between the legs of at least one of said forked connector portions whereby plural terminals may be readily strapped to one another by wedging the projecting tooth portion of one of said connectors between the legs of a forked portion of another of said connectors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,183,109 Sipe Dec. 12, 1939 2,264,040 Johnson Nov. 25, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 229,811 Great Britain Nov. 5, 1925 

